“I Do Want a Fat Dog!”
When I follow a small business, or choose to patronize one over the other, it's usually because the one I give my business to has a history of showing up in our community. If they aren't the least expensive or maybe I'd give the food or four rating instead of a five, I will still go back to one who gives to our community. In the case of OshPop Gourmet Popcorn I get to promote a company that has the best product and who is a giver. I do a lot of community events with goody bags and I'm always happy to get the bag of popcorn. I create events for non-profits and when I ask Chris if he'd like to donate a raffle basket or some other way to raise funds he usually says yes. And, wow, his gift baskets are gorgeous and packed with such a great variety [...]
The Best Book Possible
It's been a year since I wrote a blog. That's not to say I've not written anything, but they never quite made it on to here. I had a major health event in 2024 which lingered into 2025. Then came the custody battle from hell which means Gary and I head to Chicago three days a week to help my son and grandson. What I've been doing is adding chapters to my life book. I started writing my first rescue dog book exactly four years ago today. How time flies. I Chose You is filled with stories about individual dogs. One thing I learned from writing two books and a zillion blogs about dogs is that all of the stories in your dog's life combine to make just one chapter of your life. We have a lot of chapters in our lives from childhood to adult, [...]
No Strings Attached
For reasons I won’t share today, my youngest son was estranged from me for four years. Misunderstandings. Harsh words. Hopeless feelings. I’m still not sure of the whys behind what happened between us, but this summer I landed in the hospital and almost died. Another story for another time. My older son alerted his brother who called the hospital line and I heard his voice. As dreadful as I felt, and, trust me, I don’t know that I have ever felt so horrible in my life, hearing his voice and having a conversation gave me a reason to live. We started texting and then came the pictures of my third grandchild. I knew he had a son, but seeing those pictures as I rested on the sofa after being released from the hospital changed everything. One late summer weekend he and my grandson came for a visit. That blonde-haired blue-eyed [...]
Saying Goodbye
Some days you never forget no matter how long ago it happened. December 23, 2021 is one of those days. I sat in the car and cried that day. The lives that had been destroyed [...]
Peanut Brittle Farts
I was not involved in the making of this story. Every year I give my friend and fellow Rotarian a gallon of caramel corn he gives me his famous peanut brittle. It's not too sweet [...]
Be Kind
One day in the midst of the holiday season of 2021 we went to run in for a few things we needed at Costco. I was picking up pecans and almonds for the caramel corn, [...]